My Soccer Idol -- George Weah

The game is in INJURY TIME, and the score is “1-1” Liberia verses Nigeria and a PENALTY KICK has just been awarded to Liberia. The winner of this game qualifies to compete in the WORLD CUP. With the home team only a kick away from entering the WORLD CUP, the roar from the jubilant home crowd is louder than it has ever been. Looking into the overly populated stands, over 97% of the spectators were hankering and hoping that they will witness their country qualify for their first ever WORLD CUP competition.  The referee positions the ball at the penalty spot and backs off while keeping a close eye on the PENALTY box’s line to ensure that every player excluding the kicker and the goal keeper, stays clear until the kick is made. George Weah (the team’s captain) signals to the referee for a short hold to have a last word of encouragement with the kicker. The referee agrees with a slight nod as George Oppong Weah walks over to me, places his left hand on my left shoulder, leans over and says “your country is depending on you”. He then walks away and clears the penalty box as the crowd becomes wierdly quiet. The referee then blows the whistle permitting the kick to be taken. With a premeditated direction of where I was going to kick the ball, I calmly took two quick steps toward the ball, raised my right leg in a kicking motion and then…………………………….MY ALARM CLOCK GOES OFF(ARN!!!-ARN!!!-ARN!!!!). Of course I’m pissed off!!! LOL!!!! I woke up disappointed and a little irritated thinking to myself "if only I was able to stay asleep for a couple of more seconds."  All I wanted to do was to live up to the expectations of my all time favorite soccer player ever, HIS MAJESTY, KING George Oppong Weah.

  Growing up in Liberia, I was like almost every young soccer playing boy, wishing, imagining, and fantasizing of the day that we would get a chance to play along side King George Oppong Weah, our country’s pride. Word to the wise, when speaking to any soccer playing Liberian, be very careful of what you say when you speak of our soccer messiah, the one and only “KING GEORGE OPPONG WEAH”. Two years after my “ALARM CLOCK INCIDENT”, my dream finally came true and I was able to scrimmage along side our country’s pride KING GEORGE OPPONG WEAH. I will never forget that day. Here is my question to you, if you ever had the chance to meet, play against, or along side, a soccer star that you’ve always admired, who would that be? KING GEORGE OPPONG WEAH is mine. Leave a comment..